Same Time Next Week

Milly Johnson

LIFE brings many changes but for women of a certain age, the ‘middle years’ too often usher in changes that will challenge them both physically and emotionally.

Take Amanda Brundell… her old dreams and ambitions have long been consigned to the bin, she’s single, childless, cares for her elderly mother, and is struggling with the effects of the menopause.  Her very understandable fear now is that she will never escape the grim, continuous loop of work and duty.

What is it about Barnsley born-and-bred author Milly Johnson’s entertaining and highly anticipated novels that each and every one of them wins a special place in the hearts of her army of adoring readers? Could it be the feeling that you personally know her cast of exquisitely imagined and authentic characters, is it her ability to zone in so precisely on to life’s fears, frustrations, triumphs and tragedies, or is it quite simply that she captures the zeitgeist of real women with all too recognisable real-life dilemmas?

Whatever your reasons for loving Johnson’s (pictured left) gloriously uplifting novels, you can guarantee that her empowering stories – liberally sprinkled with Yorkshire heart and humour – will nail the importance of female friendship, the precious bonds of family and community, and the magic that springs from kindness and caring.

Welcome to Spring Hill in a corner of South Yorkshire, home to a square of independent shops and cafes, a thriving local community and the newest venture, Ray’s Diner... it’s here that a group of local women will soon be meeting once a week over a cup of something warming.

Middle-aged Amanda is primary carer to her elderly, truculent mother and with a half-brother who has proved himself useless but is still favourite child, she feels like she’s been second-best all her life. Her day job is in marketing but she’s fed up with her company ‘managing’ women out so is pleasantly surprised when the boss asks her to draft a report on supporting staff through menopause.  

Spurred into action by the fact that her own menopause has hit her ‘like a sledgehammer,’ Amanda decides to set up a weekly discussion group at her local diner (where owner Roy happens to be a rather gorgeous Texan owner) to gather as much information as she can.

In walk four women who are about to change her life... Sky, Mel, Erin and Astrid are also at a crossroads. Sky works at the repair shop, patching up old teddy bears, and their owners’ hearts.

But Sky’s heart beats for the shop owner, a man who is over twenty years older than herself, married and strictly off-limits.

Mel has been a loyal and loving wife to Steve for thirty years but when he goes to his old school reunion, and meets an old flame, life as she knows it will never be the same again. Erin is trying to get over a traumatic death but her guilt weighs more than her grief. She can’t start healing and ‘regrouping’ until she has conquered the ‘self-protective’ instincts’ getting in her way.

Cleaner Astrid, meanwhile, is in need of a change and a challenge. She feels as if ‘life was a big orange and she hasn’t squeezed enough juice out of it’ but when a fantastic opportunity presents itself, who is around to convince her she is worthy enough to take the risk? Can these women find acceptance, courage, support... and the answers to their worries?

It’s staggering to think that Same Time Next Week is Johnson’s 22^nd novel... another dazzling reminder of how this talented and empathetic writer remains constantly in tune with women’s emotional struggles and how the unique support and understanding that women offer to each other is the panacea and the glue that helps to keep their lives on track.

And in true style, Amanda and her disillusioned gang’s chequered path through emotive themes like divorce, bereavement, the heavy burden of guilt, caring responsibilities, the blossoming of self-worth, and the discovery that it’s never too late to start again is liberally sprinkled with the author’s delicious Yorkshire-flavoured wit and warmth.

Life throws at us both light and darkness and Johnson is never afraid to tackle those two imposters with her native wisdom, her deep understanding of the extraordinary challenges many women face, and her unwavering conviction that female friendships have an extraordinary transformative power. So if you’re looking for an inspirational, uplifting and utterly charming escape, head off to Yorkshire and enjoy romance and reality in springtime’s most seductive reading package!
(Simon & Schuster, hardback, £16.99)